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AFRIN – Militant fighters of the al-Nusra Front (al-Qaeda branch in Syria) pounded two Kurdish villages in the Shirawa district in the area of ​​Afrin, northern Aleppo province, local sources reported on Friday.

Several mortar shells hit the villages of Basufan and Baaya, where Yezidi Kurds constitute a majority.

Speaking to ARA News in Afrin suburb, media activist Sherin Saleh said that clashes broke out in the vicinity of the villages of Basufan and Baaya between local Kurdish forces and Nusra militants.

“Then al-Nusra terrorists launched an intensive attack with mortar fire on civilian houses, causing a mass displacement among the residents,” she said.

“The shells were launched from the nearby Castle of Samaan, which is under the control of the al-Nusra fighters and the Islamist group of Ahrar al-Sham,” she added.

A commander of the Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) told ARA News in Afrin: “This is not the first time al-Nusra Front is trying to intimidate people in the region.”

“Over the last three months, sporadic clashes took place in Afrin region between the YPG forces and the Nusra militants, after the latter tried to storm residential districts and villages in this region,” he added. “We will continue to defend civilians against Nusra terrorists.”